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Thaumaturgy
Thaumaturgy is the closely guarded secret blood magic practiced by the vampiric Clan Tremere. Created by exhaustive research and extensive experimentation, Thaumaturgy utilises the principles of Hermetic magic used by House Tremere when it was still a cabal of mages, adapted to be fuelled by the inherent magical power of Vitae rather than the Quintessence known to mortal mages. While it is certainly powerful and versatile, it is organised very differently to the mortal magic; Thaumaturgy is largely unknown to mages, and universally distrusted and reviled by those who do know of it. Thaumaturgy uses a system of paths and rituals to focus the thaumaturge's will. Paths are learned expressions of thaumaturgical principles developed into reliable, repeatable effects. Unlike the "natural" powers of Disciplines, however, thaumaturges must concentrate their will, forcing the power of their blood to unnatural ends. If their concentration is not complete, if they falter, then the magic will fail, and in extreme cases such failure can have a lasting effect on the thaumaturge, draining their mental resources Rituals, by contrast, are elaborate, sophisticated and codified instructions for producing set magical effects. Rituals vary in complexity, and require varying levels of thaumaturgical knowledge to complete successfully. They often require the trappings of Hermetic magic - circles drawn in chalk, locks of the victim's hair, meditation, chanting ancient words of power and the like. Rituals can take hours, days or even months to perform, but if successfully completed will always produce the same result. They can be incredibly powerful, particularly when senior thaumaturges join forces; it was a thaumaturgical ritual which cursed the entire Assamite clan. Mechanics Thaumaturgical paths always carry a cost in Vitae, and generally have a roll that looks like this: Resolve + Occult + Thaumaturgy – level of power being attempted This can of course vary from power to power. *When a kindred buys his first dot of Thaumaturgy he gains one free dot in a path, and one free level one ritual. This path is now known as his primary path. *Whenever a kindred increases his Thaumaturgy he gains an additional dot in his primary path *Kindred can buy secondary paths for the cost of an in-clan discipline. But ratings in secondary paths can never exceed that of the the rating in thaumaturgy. *If a kindred buys a sixth or higher dot of thaumaturgy then he gains a free dot of another path. *A kindred can never learn a ritual that is of higher rating then his dots in Thaumaturgy. *The Primary path of any Tremere is almost always the Path of Blood. In fact many will look down upon those who choose other paths for their Primary. *Secondary Paths can be quite difficult and time intensive to learn. *Thaumaturgy is not subtle. Its loud, flashy, and obtrusive. Use of it in public is almost certainly a breach of the masquerade, and attempting to preform blood magic when obfuscated always breaks Obfuscates mental illusion. Paths *Path of Blood *Path of Conjuring *Path of Corruption *Path of Destruction *Path of Elemental Strength *Path of Father's Vengance (Sabbat) *Path of Flames *Path of the Green *Path of Movement of the Mind *Path of Mars *Path of Neptune's Might *Path of Portals (Forest Only) *Path of Weather Control *Thaumaturgical Counter-magic These are only a few of the paths, a great deal more of rare and esoteric examples exists as well. Rituals